Mailu vs emailwiz
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted mail servers options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Mailu | emailwiz |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 25 · At risk |
| Category | Mail Servers | Mail Servers |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Python | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,524 | ★ 2,166 |
| First released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 | Google Workspace |
What are Mailu and emailwiz?
Mailu
Mailu is a free mail server distributed as a set of Docker images, providing a complete stack with antispam, webmail, and admin interface. It aims to be simpler and lighter than other mail suites.
- Composable Docker images
- Built-in antispam and antivirus
- Roundcube and SnappyMail webmail
- Admin UI and REST API
emailwiz
emailwiz is a shell script that automatically configures a complete, secure email server with Postfix, Dovecot, Spamassassin, and DKIM on a Debian or Ubuntu system. It targets quick, opinionated setups.
- One-script mail server setup
- Postfix, Dovecot and SpamAssassin
- Automatic DKIM and TLS
- Opinionated, secure defaults
Mailu vs emailwiz: key differences
Mailu is written in Python, while emailwiz is built with Shell. Licensing differs — MIT for Mailu versus GPL-3.0 for emailwiz. Emailwiz is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Mailu. Mailu is the more established project (first released 2016), while emailwiz arrived in 2019. Mailu has the considerably larger community, at 7,524 GitHub stars versus 2,166. Mailu lists first-class Docker deployment; emailwiz does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Mailu if…
- Lighter than mailcow
- Kubernetes support
Watch out for
- Fewer features than larger suites
- Manual DNS configuration
Choose emailwiz if…
- Fast to deploy
- Transparent shell script
Watch out for
- No webmail included
- Limited customization
Frequently asked questions
Is Mailu or emailwiz better?
Neither is universally better. Mailu has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Mailu and emailwiz free and open-source?
Yes. Mailu is licensed under MIT and emailwiz under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Mailu and emailwiz with Docker?
Mailu: yes. emailwiz: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Mailu or emailwiz?
emailwiz has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Mailu. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.